Katie (our
prep course teacher) told us that while we are here it is important to find
success in the little things. I think I am going to start making a daily list of
my little wins but a couple ones today:
Killed the
mosquito that has been biting us the past few nights.
I had to clip
my nails for the first time in years today! (I am kicking the habit of biting
my nails)
So today was the first day at the orphanage. We met Teo (one of the main workers) and Sara (the physical therapist). We walked through the orphanage and Teo showed us all the rooms. Downstairs is a daycare and preschool/ kindergarten for special needs kids. They have physical therapy rooms and the orphanage is in such better shape than I thought it was. They have music therapy rooms, art therapy, sensory stimulation rooms, psychologists with college degrees, physical therapists and nurse interns. Upstairs is where the orphans stay permanently, and there is also an “Emergency Room” where children emergencies stay for a few days. When the police/ government get a call for a social case (abuse, neglect, etc) the children are brought to the orphanage and stay anywhere from one day to a months depending on the case.
Teo speaks very good English, so I was immediately more at ease. She took us through the three main rooms, Isolation, Mickey Mouse, and Bambi. Isolation mainly consists of severely handicapped babies and small infants. One of the girls was 1 ½ and apart from her more advanced motor skills, you would guess she was 6 months or so based on size. There are a lot of nurse interns in the Isolation rooms. Mickey Mouse are younger children ranging around 2-4 years old. There are a lot of motor impaired children that were strapped into high chairs. A lot of the children have permanent feeding tubes that are taped to their faces and lead down into their stomach through their nose. One of the girls in Mickey mouse was really intensely cross eyed so I did not think she could see me very well. I touched her hand and she squeezed my finger tightly. After a few seconds of talking to her I smiled and squeezed her hand tightly.. I didnt think she could see me, but she mustered up the biggest smile her face would allow. It was so touching and caught me so off guard that I got choked up for a second. These children are so sensitive to touch and to love it is amazing.
After walking through the orphanage, we took a bus 30 minutes outside of the city to the Dacia apartments (my ticket stubs are the picture above). They are set up to mock a family-type environment and prepare the children for foster care. These children are not physically handicapped but have behavioral disorders and/or attachment disorders. They were so adorable and so wild! It was fun playing with them for a while and the workers are really special people. I was thinking about this today; the women who work in the orphanage and apartments must be such loving and special people. They have dedicated their life to a work that is not highly praised in their culture. In a culture where family does not seem to be a huge priority, they have made their life about serving and helping children in need on a 24/7 basis. If I ever feel intimidated by them or if they are grumpy like Mario warned us they would be, I think having the perspective that these women are giving such sacrifice and are truly loving women will help me not react in a negative way. By Monday we have to pick which room we want to work in for the rest of the semester. Tomorrow we will be playing in the different rooms with the kids to help us find our best fit. I cannot wait! Today was such a good day and while I know I will have to step out of my comfort zone BIG TIME, I cannot wait to start doing the work that I came here to do.
I came home and took a freakin long nap. The good thing about these long hours is that they will help me sleep better at night.. I have a really hard time sleeping here which is funny because typically I sleep like a rock. I can fall asleep anywhere anytime and when I do I am out cold. I made some tomato soup for dinner which was a little too expensive. I feel like the more I pay for food, at least something like tomato soup, the more american I hope it will taste but this was not the case. The food is good here, just very potent and everything seems to be seasoned with fennel. Anyhoo... sorry for the LONG entry.. If you have read up to this point you either must have a lot of time on your hands or must really love me :) I just wanted to thank everyone for their support. Getting me out here was only an 1/8 of the battle. Days here are long and trials can seem to come at an hourly basis but everything is Ok knowing that I have loving family members and friends there for me every step of the way.
I wish the best of luck to my incredible Mother who is back in school, man do I respect her. BYU is not easy
and she is such a fighter. Thank you Mom for your love and thoughtfulness. You
never cease to amaze me. Dad, you support the family in every single way and
still manage to find time to balance work, scouts and church while staying true
to yourself and upkeeping your hobbies (LET'S GET SOME 5 POINTERS!). Seriously
though, thank you for the advice; you always help me keep my head on straight and my priorities in line and reminding me that I am loved.
Brittney, good luck your senior year, I wish I could hear the boy stories and
the class stories so that we could laugh together about the highs and lows of
good ole PG high. Leave people better than you found them and go out with a
bang! Thank you for your genuine concern and love for me. You are a best friend to me and I hope I can be the same. Cierra I miss you to death. I miss how "feminem" you are and I miss you always pointing out the roadkiller. You are the biggest sweetheart you know and I miss having your sweet spirit around to constantly remind me to be a kinder person. Brad, thank you for giving me a smile every single day, for making me feel loved every single day, for reminding me that I have purpose every single day. You make me a better person without even saying a word. Cada dia me enamoro contigo mas y mas! Chantal, thank you for being my best friend for almost what... 6 years now? crazy. You are the most faithful friend anyone could ask for. I know that you would do anything for me regardless of the cost, distance or craziness of the request. Thank you for always knowing what to say and thank you for always being there for me, even though we have had a long distance relationship for a good few years now: )
Signing off for now,
La Revedere!
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